ᐅ House and Floor Plan Design – Initial Architect’s Draft Available
Created on: 14 Oct 2020 18:29
P
Pinkiponk
As previously announced, our old house in Baden-Württemberg has now been sold, we have moved to the Leipzig district, and we can now focus on our new house. Due to our age, we have deliberately downsized both the lot size and the living space. We have a first architect’s draft. I have already noted a few change requests and am now looking forward to your additions, criticism, and suggestions. If further plans or similar are needed, I will gladly provide them as long as I have them available.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to help me.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Lot size: 567sqm (6,105 sqft)
Slope: visually not noticeable; if this is important information, I will look for where to find it
Site occupancy index: 0.35
Floor area ratio: 0.8
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: see attached drawing
Edge development: not allowed/desired on our part
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: hipped roof
Style: classic, conservative
Orientation: ?
Maximum heights/limits: “Top of raw floor slab of ground floor to ridge height of main roof max. 11.5 meters (38 feet)”; “Top of raw floor slab of ground floor to eave height of main roof max. 7.0 meters (23 feet)”
Further requirements
Client Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: we are trying to approximate the house shown in the photo below; however, without the gable projection; classic/conservative, hipped roof, town house
Basement, floors: no basement, 2 floors
Number of occupants, age: 1 male, 64 years old – 1 female, 58 years old
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor:
Ground floor → kitchen, shower bathroom, living/lounge room, utility room with kitchenette and floor drain, hallway;
Upper floor → bathroom with tub, bedroom, 2 “wardrobe and storage rooms”
Office: family use or home office? Couple without children, no home office
Number of overnight guests per year: 10
Open or closed architecture: open on the outside, closed on the inside
Conservative or modern construction: conservative
Open kitchen, cooking island: no, classical L-shaped kitchen or similar (the plan includes a cooking island that will not be built)
Number of dining seats: 2 in the kitchen, up to 6–8 in the living/lounge room
Fireplace: gas stove chimney
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: both no
Garage, carport: 2 arched carports
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: both no
Additional wishes/particulars/daily routine, also reasons why some things should or should not be
House Design
Who created the plan:
– Planner from a construction company: yes, in cooperation with the clients
– Architect: unclear
– Do-it-yourself: yes, in cooperation with the prefabricated house manufacturer’s planner
What do you especially like? Why? Many windows and patio doors, lots of natural light and fresh air
What do you not like? Why? The windows on the upper floor are too low in the plan, but this will be changed
Price estimate according to architect/planner: already commissioned offer/order €312,780.00 (without carport, outdoor facilities, additional construction costs, land, ...)
Personal price limit for the house including equipment: €400,000.00
Preferred heating system: gas condensing boiler plus solar thermal (according to legal requirements)
If you have to forgo something, which details/upgrades
– What you can give up: we are already giving up shutters, whirlpool
– What you cannot give up: many windows and patio doors, muntins in the windows and doors
Why is the design as it is? For example:
A mixture of many examples from various magazines…
What do you think makes it good or bad? It generally meets our wishes. On the ground floor, we want access to the garden from every room. We find symmetry more pleasing than asymmetry. Few different window and door formats. No horizontal (“lying”) windows. Each of us has a separate room for clothing and such, so that no wardrobes have to be placed in the bedroom. We do not want a separate dressing room.
What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
The roof seems somewhat steep to me. Is a 30-degree roof pitch for a house with a base of 9.40m x 9.40m (31 feet x 31 feet) too steep? The standard according to the provider is 22 degrees. That seemed too flat, or you can hardly see the roof.
The development plan was too large to upload; I will try again in a separate post in this thread.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to help me.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Lot size: 567sqm (6,105 sqft)
Slope: visually not noticeable; if this is important information, I will look for where to find it
Site occupancy index: 0.35
Floor area ratio: 0.8
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: see attached drawing
Edge development: not allowed/desired on our part
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: hipped roof
Style: classic, conservative
Orientation: ?
Maximum heights/limits: “Top of raw floor slab of ground floor to ridge height of main roof max. 11.5 meters (38 feet)”; “Top of raw floor slab of ground floor to eave height of main roof max. 7.0 meters (23 feet)”
Further requirements
Client Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: we are trying to approximate the house shown in the photo below; however, without the gable projection; classic/conservative, hipped roof, town house
Basement, floors: no basement, 2 floors
Number of occupants, age: 1 male, 64 years old – 1 female, 58 years old
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor:
Ground floor → kitchen, shower bathroom, living/lounge room, utility room with kitchenette and floor drain, hallway;
Upper floor → bathroom with tub, bedroom, 2 “wardrobe and storage rooms”
Office: family use or home office? Couple without children, no home office
Number of overnight guests per year: 10
Open or closed architecture: open on the outside, closed on the inside
Conservative or modern construction: conservative
Open kitchen, cooking island: no, classical L-shaped kitchen or similar (the plan includes a cooking island that will not be built)
Number of dining seats: 2 in the kitchen, up to 6–8 in the living/lounge room
Fireplace: gas stove chimney
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: both no
Garage, carport: 2 arched carports
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: both no
Additional wishes/particulars/daily routine, also reasons why some things should or should not be
House Design
Who created the plan:
– Planner from a construction company: yes, in cooperation with the clients
– Architect: unclear
– Do-it-yourself: yes, in cooperation with the prefabricated house manufacturer’s planner
What do you especially like? Why? Many windows and patio doors, lots of natural light and fresh air
What do you not like? Why? The windows on the upper floor are too low in the plan, but this will be changed
Price estimate according to architect/planner: already commissioned offer/order €312,780.00 (without carport, outdoor facilities, additional construction costs, land, ...)
Personal price limit for the house including equipment: €400,000.00
Preferred heating system: gas condensing boiler plus solar thermal (according to legal requirements)
If you have to forgo something, which details/upgrades
– What you can give up: we are already giving up shutters, whirlpool
– What you cannot give up: many windows and patio doors, muntins in the windows and doors
Why is the design as it is? For example:
A mixture of many examples from various magazines…
What do you think makes it good or bad? It generally meets our wishes. On the ground floor, we want access to the garden from every room. We find symmetry more pleasing than asymmetry. Few different window and door formats. No horizontal (“lying”) windows. Each of us has a separate room for clothing and such, so that no wardrobes have to be placed in the bedroom. We do not want a separate dressing room.
What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
The roof seems somewhat steep to me. Is a 30-degree roof pitch for a house with a base of 9.40m x 9.40m (31 feet x 31 feet) too steep? The standard according to the provider is 22 degrees. That seemed too flat, or you can hardly see the roof.
The development plan was too large to upload; I will try again in a separate post in this thread.
11ant schrieb:
In building authorities, it is not uncommon that the head official and their deputy are civil servants, but the staff working "below them" are employees – they may be professionally competent, but their information might only be opinions without legal binding (not only due to lack of written form but also because of limited authority to represent). What nonsense!
P
Pinkiponk27 Mar 2021 07:11aero2016 schrieb:
That’s nonsense. It has absolutely nothing to do with being a civil servant.
But phone inquiries are always unreliable.From our perspective, it was fine. We were very grateful for the tip, and it was quite possible that it would be approved. Now we are building differently, but in our opinion, the house and outdoor area will still look nice. 🙂
@Pinkiponk
Yesterday, I made it my mission to find out who in this forum is the one who kindly spreads a few thank-yous everywhere but rarely contributes to the actual topics. That’s when I came across your thread. I was so impressed by the way you’ve stood your ground that I had to read it all the way through.
Now I just want to express my admiration for you. This thread (but not only this one) clearly shows why I personally never shared our plans here, not even our kitchen. Many (most, if not all) of those who have written to you here meant well. They simply couldn’t understand why you’ve taken such a completely different approach than almost everyone else in this forum would likely take. They couldn’t relate to the idea that this might be exactly where you and your husband feel most comfortable, which I personally found very unfortunate. Their intentions were good, but some didn’t fully grasp how their words might come across to you—in some cases, I would even say it was hurtful, although the sender may not have intended it that way. I won’t name anyone, as I believe those involved know they are being referred to.
I really found it remarkable how clear and polite you remained every single time despite all the criticism and how calmly you didn’t let yourself be shaken. I’m sure you’ll soon have a wonderful home, completely different from many others here, but 100% what both of you have lovingly and compromise-wise agreed on and decided. You have a great attitude and are truly strong!
I’ve already said that I deliberately haven’t shared our plans because we spent months focused solely on making our home as cozy as possible for us. Surely, there are some things we planned that no one else might understand, but that’s exactly how we want it. I’m actually a very assertive person—or at least that’s what people say about me. Still, I know that many things would have affected me deeply and I would have faltered. I probably would have stood my ground like you did, but I would have doubted myself and lost that feeling of comfort, which I know would have been terrible for me. And even though I’ve tried for as long as I can remember not to show my vulnerabilities, I also know that I would have passed on my feelings to my loved one beside me—and that would have been much worse for me.
I just want to say that you stood firm for 22 pages, through a lot of comments, and you will definitely live in your dream home, which is far more important than just doing everything “right” sometimes. Perhaps this example also shows some people that it’s not always best to write everything they might be thinking—especially when they sense early on that it’s simply not wanted. There is no universal recipe for happiness…
All the best to you and your project!
Yesterday, I made it my mission to find out who in this forum is the one who kindly spreads a few thank-yous everywhere but rarely contributes to the actual topics. That’s when I came across your thread. I was so impressed by the way you’ve stood your ground that I had to read it all the way through.
Now I just want to express my admiration for you. This thread (but not only this one) clearly shows why I personally never shared our plans here, not even our kitchen. Many (most, if not all) of those who have written to you here meant well. They simply couldn’t understand why you’ve taken such a completely different approach than almost everyone else in this forum would likely take. They couldn’t relate to the idea that this might be exactly where you and your husband feel most comfortable, which I personally found very unfortunate. Their intentions were good, but some didn’t fully grasp how their words might come across to you—in some cases, I would even say it was hurtful, although the sender may not have intended it that way. I won’t name anyone, as I believe those involved know they are being referred to.
I really found it remarkable how clear and polite you remained every single time despite all the criticism and how calmly you didn’t let yourself be shaken. I’m sure you’ll soon have a wonderful home, completely different from many others here, but 100% what both of you have lovingly and compromise-wise agreed on and decided. You have a great attitude and are truly strong!
I’ve already said that I deliberately haven’t shared our plans because we spent months focused solely on making our home as cozy as possible for us. Surely, there are some things we planned that no one else might understand, but that’s exactly how we want it. I’m actually a very assertive person—or at least that’s what people say about me. Still, I know that many things would have affected me deeply and I would have faltered. I probably would have stood my ground like you did, but I would have doubted myself and lost that feeling of comfort, which I know would have been terrible for me. And even though I’ve tried for as long as I can remember not to show my vulnerabilities, I also know that I would have passed on my feelings to my loved one beside me—and that would have been much worse for me.
I just want to say that you stood firm for 22 pages, through a lot of comments, and you will definitely live in your dream home, which is far more important than just doing everything “right” sometimes. Perhaps this example also shows some people that it’s not always best to write everything they might be thinking—especially when they sense early on that it’s simply not wanted. There is no universal recipe for happiness…
All the best to you and your project!
P
Pinkiponk12 Apr 2022 17:00Nixwill2 schrieb:
@Pinkiponk
Yesterday, I made it my mission to find out who in this forum is the one randomly spreading a few thank-yous everywhere but rarely contributes to the topics themselves. That’s when I came across your thread here. I was so impressed by the way you handle everything that I had to read it all the way through.Thank you, it’s nice that you took the time and put so much thought and kindness into your message.Nixwill2 schrieb:
Now I just want to express my admiration for you.I’m probably two or three times older than you (but not as old as a turtle yet ;-) ) and therefore had a lot—no, a great, great deal of time to practice. ;-) Still, I appreciate your words, even if it’s hard for me to fully accept them.Nixwill2 schrieb:
This thread (not only this one) clearly shows why I personally never shared our plans here, not even our kitchen.That’s a pity, I’m interested in your project and I’m sure many others are as well.Nixwill2 schrieb:
Many (most, if not all) who wrote to you here had good intentions.You and I can be absolutely sure of that. 🙂Nixwill2 schrieb:
They just didn’t want to understand why you’re taking such a completely different approach than almost everyone else in this forum would probably take.Finding understanding is nice and reassuring. But in my opinion, a lack of understanding also has its appeal and can be stimulating—or prompts you to reconsider your own position and then be even more confident that it is the right choice for yourself. 🙂Nixwill2 schrieb:
I’m sure you’ll soon have a wonderful house, completely different from many here, but 100% what you two have lovingly agreed on and are prepared to compromise about.It will probably be an average house, simple and plain, and precisely because of that I will like it. So far, I really find it beautiful in its simplicity. I have mentioned several times in this forum that once it’s finished, everyone is welcome to visit and explore every corner to see that it didn’t turn out “that bad.”What is embarrassing ;-) is that we have already discovered a major mistake: our floor-to-ceiling patio doors on the ground floor are not flush with the floor as I had assumed. So, window sills have been installed on all our lovely windows that we wanted as walkways outside, and now we’re still considering if and how we can turn those patio doors into the terrace doors we wanted. 🙂 That will be a new thread here at some point—actually, maybe sooner rather than later. ;-)
Nixwill2 schrieb:
You have a great attitude and you’re really strong!You certainly do as well, in the situations where it matters to you. We just tend to neglect, suppress, or forget the other situations. ;-)Nixwill2 schrieb:
I already said that I consciously didn’t share my things here because we spent months doing nothing else but focusing on our home, to make it as cozy as possible for us. There are surely some things that no one else would understand, but that’s how we want it and planned it.A little comfort: What others don’t understand is probably original and therefore great and exactly right for you. 🙂 It’s also a pity you didn’t share your plans here, but I understand, even though I often decide differently.Nixwill2 schrieb:
Still, I know personally that many things would have affected me deeply and made me stumble. I probably would have stood my ground like you did, but I would have doubted myself and lost that feeling of comfort, that’s how I know myself—and that would have been terrible for me. And even though I’ve tried since I can remember not to show it, I also know that I would have passed that on to my loved one next to me, which would have been even worse.Then you made the absolutely right decision, and I’m happy for you. Maybe you could risk showing a very small glimpse, just as an experiment—something that absolutely won’t make you sad. For example, how or where you plan to store your trash bins. ;-)Nixwill2 schrieb:
I just want to say that you stood your ground over 22 pages of a lot being said and will surely live in your dream house, which is much more important than sometimes just doing everything “right.”Thanks again, I’m happy to hear that.Nixwill2 schrieb:
All the best to you and your project!All the best to you, too, as well as for your plans. I always enjoy reading from you.
Pinkiponk schrieb:
So now, window sills have been installed on all our beautiful windows that we wanted to use as passages to the outside, and we are still considering whether and how we can convert the French windows into the desired patio doors. For the conversion to low thresholds, I would choose one or two of the floor-to-ceiling windows (but don’t postpone this—order the change now). I am always amazed at which details you don’t ask about in time.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
P
Pinkiponk13 Apr 2022 07:52You should ask questions in time, not when it’s too late. In time means when you notice something and understand it. Take photos and upload them. It might still be possible to install different windows now…
I will be at the construction site again this weekend and will take detailed photos then.
For the conversion to flush thresholds, I would choose one or two of the floor-to-ceiling windows (but don’t delay this, reorder them now). I’m always surprised by which details you don’t ask about early enough.
I agree with you and welcome suggestions for solutions. I have to see some things first because I lack the imagination. Besides, I partly relied on my husband and the sample coordinator. I have constantly talked about wanting to have access to the garden from every door on the ground floor and maybe building a continuous terrace around the house. Maybe I should talk more. ;-)
I will be at the construction site again this weekend and will take detailed photos then.
For the conversion to flush thresholds, I would choose one or two of the floor-to-ceiling windows (but don’t delay this, reorder them now). I’m always surprised by which details you don’t ask about early enough.
I agree with you and welcome suggestions for solutions. I have to see some things first because I lack the imagination. Besides, I partly relied on my husband and the sample coordinator. I have constantly talked about wanting to have access to the garden from every door on the ground floor and maybe building a continuous terrace around the house. Maybe I should talk more. ;-)